DQ at ATCO - Page 2

MR DERBY CITY · 08-19-2018, 08:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jared Jordan

Why doesn’t it? Some of us may have to race said racer someday. To boot, NHRA’s description of the incident is vague, at best. So, what did he do that was bad enough that NHRA decides to excuse him for the rest of the year? All that’s been said is he crossed into another competitor’s lane. I’ve both seen and done the same in the shutdown area trying to swing wide for a turn-off, for example. That mean I’m in danger of being DQ’d and suspended?

I don’t think it appropriate to sling dirt, but there’s also no good reason to play hide the ball with facts. Personally not interested in the alleged “threat” after the fact, either.

I agree, NHRA’s description of offenses is always VAGUE.....
I would still like to know what Leah P. did to accumulate such a hefty fine months ago ?? ..I have to hand it to D1.......That was one wild points race at ATCO.....the behind the scenes action was intense....

vic guilmino · 08-19-2018, 09:05 PM

go to the video tape
watch the race

Ken Miele · 08-19-2018, 10:17 PM

Before this thread gets carried away, let me give you the facts. I know both drivers very well. Tex Miller was racing Thomas Fletcher in a qualifying pass. Thomas was having an issue with the car. It was running rough, and he had a little trouble staging. When he staged the car, he lit both bulbs, he backed out as Tex was not pre staged yet. Tex then lit the pre stage bulb, got on his two step and lit the stage bulb. Thomas only had his pre stage bulb on. I'm not sure why Tex was on the two step so fast when Thomas was not fully staged yet. Thomas, still having issues slowly bumped in, it took about 9 seconds, auto start is 10 seconds for sportsman racers.

If you go to the live stream at the 46.20 mark you can see what took place on the starting line. After the run at the turn off Thomas ask Tex, why did you cut in front of me as we were shutting down. Tex was very upset and verbally abusive because he thought Thomas burned him down. Thomas apologized and told Tex he was having issues with the car. Tex was still upset and was pretty hard on Thomas. Thomas kept his cool and went to the scales. Tex, still not happy with Thomas got to the scales and voiced his frustration again at Thomas but in front of the officials. I can understand being upset if you think your opponent is messing with you on the staring line, but this was a qualifier. Even if it was the case, causing a possible injury by cutting them off on the race track is wrong. It dangerous enough on the track, we don't need this type of behavior.

Just before the run I was talking to Tex, he was right behind me in the lanes, he seemed like he was in a good mood and we had a good conversation, I was shocked at what happened. I know tempers flair at the track at times, but this is something that should have never happened. Sometimes we need to take a step back, after all we do this for fun. There are to many bad things happening in our every day lives, we don't need it at the track.

voltdr · 08-20-2018, 02:30 AM

Getting mad at someone taking a long time to stage is a waste of time. The time built into the timing system is what determines if someone is outside the boundaries. If the redlight didn't come on then it was within the boundaries set up for every race. If you stage and get on your converter before I stage my car, then you're probably going to set there awhile.Makes me think you are trying to rush me.
Dan

voltdr · 08-20-2018, 02:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jared Jordan

Why doesn’t it? Some of us may have to race said racer someday. To boot, NHRA’s description of the incident is vague, at best. So, what did he do that was bad enough that NHRA decides to excuse him for the rest of the year? All that’s been said is he crossed into another competitor’s lane. I’ve both seen and done the same in the shutdown area trying to swing wide for a turn-off, for example. That mean I’m in danger of being DQ’d and suspended?

I don’t think it appropriate to sling dirt, but there’s also no good reason to play hide the ball with facts. Personally not interested in the alleged “threat” after the fact, either.

I guess the "threat" was more than "alleged", if there are witnesses.
Dan

Dan Fletcher · 08-20-2018, 10:03 AM

Well Ken, I was going to let this go as its really no one's business, but seeing as you decided to offer up the facts in only a slightly less vanilla version than offered on NHRA.com, please allow me to paint a more detailed picture.

Yes, we've been having trouble with the car at idle. Thomas always lights the pre-stage bulb and grabs a chunk so it doesn't take forever to stage. He lit both by mistake. Tex is 2 cars away, not even in the frame. Thomas immediately backs out of the stage bulb. Tex now approaches and dump trucks into both and puts it on the mat. Now is when the idle problem comes into play, as it takes Thomas a minute to get the rpm set (true foot braker, no 2 step). And as he is further from the stage bulb than normal, its takes him a bit longer to get in. Yep, he used up most of the auto start. Repeat, auto start. Can't burn anyone down.

Thomas gets to the strip first and in the shutdown at very high speed Tex swerves in front of him, narrowly missing contact and such that Thomas had to slam on the brakes. Tex then proceeds to weave back in forth in front of him like a pissed off road rager on the freeway.

At this point, Thomas still has no inkling of what the eff just happened or why. Then at the scales and fuel check Tex absolutely looses his friggin' mind. Screaming and MF'ing Thomas, nose in his chest, telling him if he ever does that again he'll put him in the effin' wall. Repeatedly and in front of officials. Physically and verbally abused by a sawed off 70+ year old man and had to stand there and take it because, well, there was really no other option.

As Keno pointed out, initially Thomas tried to apologize, explain what took him most of the auto start to stage, and that if he took too long auto start would have red lighted him. Tex wasn't having any of it, instead just screaming "you double bulbed me and backed out and I don't know nothing about auto start". And for long time D1 competitors, you have to love the irony here, Tex Miller complaining about being burned down, lmfao.

This man went absolutely bat **** crazy for no reason, at least no logical reason. This was Q1 on Friday am at a points meet. He swerved in front of his opponent at nearly 100 mph and then went on a mentally imbalanced tirade. Not someone I want in the lane next to me, and apparently he won't be for a while...

Nmbr1GMfan · 08-20-2018, 11:22 AM

in·def·i·nite:
adjective
lasting for an unknown or unstated length of time.

Bill Bagley · 08-20-2018, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan Fletcher

Well Ken, I was going to let this go as its really no one's business, but seeing as you decided to offer up the facts in only a slightly less vanilla version than offered on NHRA.com, please allow me to paint a more detailed picture.

Yes, we've been having trouble with the car at idle. Thomas always lights the pre-stage bulb and grabs a chunk so it doesn't take forever to stage. He lit both by mistake. Tex is 2 cars away, not even in the frame. Thomas immediately backs out of the stage bulb. Tex now approaches and dump trucks into both and puts it on the mat. Now is when the idle problem comes into play, as it takes Thomas a minute to get the rpm set (true foot braker, no 2 step). And as he is further from the stage bulb than normal, its takes him a bit longer to get in. Yep, he used up most of the auto start. Repeat, auto start. Can't burn anyone down.

Thomas gets to the strip first and in the shutdown at very high speed Tex swerves in front of him, narrowly missing contact and such that Thomas had to slam on the brakes. Tex then proceeds to weave back in forth in front of him like a pissed off road rager on the freeway.

At this point, Thomas still has no inkling of what the eff just happened or why. Then at the scales and fuel check Tex absolutely looses his friggin' mind. Screaming and MF'ing Thomas, nose in his chest, telling him if he ever does that again he'll put him in the effin' wall. Repeatedly and in front of officials. Physically and verbally abused by a sawed off 70+ year old man and had to stand there and take it because, well, there was really no other option.

As Keno pointed out, initially Thomas tried to apologize, explain what took him most of the auto start to stage, and that if he took too long auto start would have red lighted him. Tex wasn't having any of it, instead just screaming "you double bulbed me and backed out and I don't know nothing about auto start". And for long time D1 competitors, you have to love the irony here, Tex Miller complaining about being burned down, lmfao.

This man went absolutely bat **** crazy for no reason, at least no logical reason. This was Q1 on Friday am at a points meet. He swerved in front of his opponent at nearly 100 mph and then went on a mentally imbalanced tirade. Not someone I want in the lane next to me, and apparently he won't be for a while...

Thanks for the detail Dan.

Reminded me of a recent discussion I was having with a very good friend of mine (he and I both being long time small business owners in retail trade) about our customer demographic; specifically, those who are a pleasure to deal with VS those who we wish would become someone else's customers. We kinda' surprised each other on the latter, agreeing that 'old caucasian men' are unmistakably the quickest tempered, unashamed to make horse's behinds of themselves in public and most difficult to reason with - Demographic.

In this particular case, one question followed by a simple answer (at the end of the run) should have resolved it all. But no, the worse case scenario was assumed and subsequent behavior ensued. Being on the receiving end of an unwarranted outbust like this takes a little time to get over and for some, makes moving forward a challenge. It's traumatizing, doesn't matter what your age is.

There are certainly plenty of exceptions among this age group, many who are among our drag racing community. Lets hope Tex can reflect, make it good with Thomas and move on.

Larry Hill · 08-20-2018, 03:40 PM

How could someone get that upset when Thomas did nothing outside the rules. I'm glad that nobody got hurt, during this senseless act.

Hacksaw · 08-21-2018, 02:25 PM

Here is my take on this. First off, no doubt Tex went way overboard and the penalty imposed seems to suit. Now let's look at the probable series of events that changed a happy guy moments before the run into a maniac. The two cars get called out past the ready line to make a run and Thomas quickly is in the box and does his burnout before Tex gets there. Tex starts his burnout and looks up and both stage lights are lit in the other lane. Naturally Tex feels like he is being rushed so he finishes his burnout and drives right up to the line. Now Thomas backs out and leaves the prestage on. Tex is ready to go and Thomas is using up 9 of the 10 seconds of auto start. Now Tex can't help but think the guy in the other lane is trying to screw him around and he loses his mind at the end of the run.

08-19-2018, 09:05 PM	#12
vic guilmino Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: wv Posts: 881 Likes: 42 Liked 56 Times in 21 Posts	Re: DQ at ATCO go to the video tape watch the race __________________ Vic Guilmino 1129 STK

08-19-2018, 10:17 PM	#13
Ken Miele Live Reporter Join Date: Dec 2000 Posts: 4,559 Likes: 350 Liked 13,059 Times in 1,227 Posts	Re: DQ at ATCO Before this thread gets carried away, let me give you the facts. I know both drivers very well. Tex Miller was racing Thomas Fletcher in a qualifying pass. Thomas was having an issue with the car. It was running rough, and he had a little trouble staging. When he staged the car, he lit both bulbs, he backed out as Tex was not pre staged yet. Tex then lit the pre stage bulb, got on his two step and lit the stage bulb. Thomas only had his pre stage bulb on. I'm not sure why Tex was on the two step so fast when Thomas was not fully staged yet. Thomas, still having issues slowly bumped in, it took about 9 seconds, auto start is 10 seconds for sportsman racers. If you go to the live stream at the 46.20 mark you can see what took place on the starting line. After the run at the turn off Thomas ask Tex, why did you cut in front of me as we were shutting down. Tex was very upset and verbally abusive because he thought Thomas burned him down. Thomas apologized and told Tex he was having issues with the car. Tex was still upset and was pretty hard on Thomas. Thomas kept his cool and went to the scales. Tex, still not happy with Thomas got to the scales and voiced his frustration again at Thomas but in front of the officials. I can understand being upset if you think your opponent is messing with you on the staring line, but this was a qualifier. Even if it was the case, causing a possible injury by cutting them off on the race track is wrong. It dangerous enough on the track, we don't need this type of behavior. Just before the run I was talking to Tex, he was right behind me in the lanes, he seemed like he was in a good mood and we had a good conversation, I was shocked at what happened. I know tempers flair at the track at times, but this is something that should have never happened. Sometimes we need to take a step back, after all we do this for fun. There are to many bad things happening in our every day lives, we don't need it at the track.

08-20-2018, 02:30 AM	#14
voltdr Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Texas Posts: 700 Likes: 77 Liked 87 Times in 47 Posts	Re: DQ at ATCO Getting mad at someone taking a long time to stage is a waste of time. The time built into the timing system is what determines if someone is outside the boundaries. If the redlight didn't come on then it was within the boundaries set up for every race. If you stage and get on your converter before I stage my car, then you're probably going to set there awhile.Makes me think you are trying to rush me. Dan __________________ Dan Foley SC 4698

08-20-2018, 10:03 AM	#16
Dan Fletcher Sponsor Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Churchville, NY Posts: 483 Likes: 108 Liked 963 Times in 61 Posts	Re: DQ at ATCO Well Ken, I was going to let this go as its really no one's business, but seeing as you decided to offer up the facts in only a slightly less vanilla version than offered on NHRA.com, please allow me to paint a more detailed picture. Yes, we've been having trouble with the car at idle. Thomas always lights the pre-stage bulb and grabs a chunk so it doesn't take forever to stage. He lit both by mistake. Tex is 2 cars away, not even in the frame. Thomas immediately backs out of the stage bulb. Tex now approaches and dump trucks into both and puts it on the mat. Now is when the idle problem comes into play, as it takes Thomas a minute to get the rpm set (true foot braker, no 2 step). And as he is further from the stage bulb than normal, its takes him a bit longer to get in. Yep, he used up most of the auto start. Repeat, auto start. Can't burn anyone down. Thomas gets to the strip first and in the shutdown at very high speed Tex swerves in front of him, narrowly missing contact and such that Thomas had to slam on the brakes. Tex then proceeds to weave back in forth in front of him like a pissed off road rager on the freeway. At this point, Thomas still has no inkling of what the eff just happened or why. Then at the scales and fuel check Tex absolutely looses his friggin' mind. Screaming and MF'ing Thomas, nose in his chest, telling him if he ever does that again he'll put him in the effin' wall. Repeatedly and in front of officials. Physically and verbally abused by a sawed off 70+ year old man and had to stand there and take it because, well, there was really no other option. As Keno pointed out, initially Thomas tried to apologize, explain what took him most of the auto start to stage, and that if he took too long auto start would have red lighted him. Tex wasn't having any of it, instead just screaming "you double bulbed me and backed out and I don't know nothing about auto start". And for long time D1 competitors, you have to love the irony here, Tex Miller complaining about being burned down, lmfao. This man went absolutely bat ** crazy for no reason, at least no logical reason. This was Q1 on Friday am at a points meet. He swerved in front of his opponent at nearly 100 mph and then went on a mentally imbalanced tirade. Not someone I want in the lane next to me, and apparently he won't be for a while... __________________ Dan Fletcher 1781 STK, SS, COMP, SG, SC DAN FLETCHER TRAILER SALES**

08-20-2018, 11:22 AM	#17
Nmbr1GMfan VIP Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Posts: 1,766 Likes: 1,197 Liked 1,957 Times in 492 Posts	Re: DQ at ATCO in·def·i·nite: adjective lasting for an unknown or unstated length of time. __________________ Todd Greene

08-20-2018, 03:40 PM	#19
Larry Hill Live Reporter Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Hickory, Ky Posts: 10,277 Likes: 1,635 Liked 9,453 Times in 1,956 Posts	Re: DQ at ATCO How could someone get that upset when Thomas did nothing outside the rules. I'm glad that nobody got hurt, during this senseless act. __________________ IHM Used Parts https://ihmusedparts.com 888-821-1817

08-21-2018, 02:25 PM	#20
Hacksaw Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2016 Posts: 838 Likes: 150 Liked 276 Times in 151 Posts	Re: DQ at ATCO Here is my take on this. First off, no doubt Tex went way overboard and the penalty imposed seems to suit. Now let's look at the probable series of events that changed a happy guy moments before the run into a maniac. The two cars get called out past the ready line to make a run and Thomas quickly is in the box and does his burnout before Tex gets there. Tex starts his burnout and looks up and both stage lights are lit in the other lane. Naturally Tex feels like he is being rushed so he finishes his burnout and drives right up to the line. Now Thomas backs out and leaves the prestage on. Tex is ready to go and Thomas is using up 9 of the 10 seconds of auto start. Now Tex can't help but think the guy in the other lane is trying to screw him around and he loses his mind at the end of the run.